FA facing a tough task in picking boss

I THINK the Football Association have got a really tough decision on their hands as they prepare to appoint a permanent England manager.

The performance against Scotland the other night wasn't great, and then tonight there's a home friendly match against Spain to play.

Not much can be read into any friendly match.

I must admit I would like to see another Englishman in charge of the team and, as I mentioned the other week, surely the FA wouldn't go too far wrong if they plumped for Gareth Southgate in the end.

He's a dead straight guy, he's a football man through and through, and he's got lots of experience within the England set-up.

I can't see the FA having too much to lost if they appoint him.

There's been talk of Arsene Wenger taking the job on, but I can't see him being the answer because I can't see him ever leaving Arsenal. I believe he'll stay there until he retires now.

Eddie Howe is many people's favourite, but I'm not sure that now is the right time for him. He's still quite young, although he has done brilliantly with Bournemouth and comes across well. It's going to be a really difficult decision.

So it's back to the cut and thrust of the Premier League this weekend, and Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola will presumably just hope all the players return from their travels free from injury, jet lag and whatever else.

It's going to be a tricky fixture at Crystal Palace on Saturday. They've not had the best of seasons so far, but they have got numerous useful players in their ranks and there's pace in the team. Hopefully the City team will have enough to get back to winning ways there, though.